Newsletter. Drouin West Primary School. 'Nurture, Enrich, Inspire, Achieve'

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1 Newsletter Drouin West Primary School 'Nurture, Enrich, Inspire, Achieve' Issue 36/17 Hours of supervision: 8.45am 3:45pm 22nd November, 2017 IMPORTANT DATES Mondays Fridays Lunch orders and Student Banking EVENTS TO REMEMBER Assembly will be held at 3pm this week in the multi-purpose room. Parents, guardians and interested community members are most welcome to attend. Friday November 24th Twilight Working Bee: 3:30pm start. Friday December 1st Drouin Secondary College band will perform for our school at 12:30pm Monday December 4th Choir rehearsal at 2:40pm. Parents, families and friends are invited to attend. Wednesday December 6th Information night for 2018 Prep parents/guardians Thursday December 7th Choir visit to Amberlea and Lyrebird Village aged care facilities. Friday December 8th Thank you morning tea - We will host a Special Morning Tea at 11am in the Multi-purpose room to say thankyou to all the wonderful people who have given up their time to help in various ways at our school throughout the year. Bush Dance End of year event. Tuesday December 12th Orientation Day - Year 6 students will attend their chosen secondary college and 2018 preps will attend Drouin West. Monday December 18th Graduation Dinner Tuesday December 19th Transition Day - Students will spend time in their 2018 home groups. Swimming Trials for 2018 swimming sports. Students who will be turning 9 in 2018 and will be in years 3 to 6 are invited to participate. You must be able to swim 50 metres. Wednesday December 20th Picnic Sports day - students will take part in sporting events. Thursday December 21st Class parties The following dates are available to assist families with planning for 2018 Friday December 22nd Last day of term 4. Students dismissed at 1:30pm. No OSHC available on this afternoon. Wednesday Thursday and Friday January 31st 2018 February 1st and 2nd 2018 First day of school for students in years 1 to 6. Parent interviews/assessments for students in Prep. No Prep class program on this day. Parent interviews/assessments for students in Prep. No Prep class programs on these days. Monday February First formal prep class begins today. CHANGES TO HOW STUDENTS ORDER ICY POLES Having an icy pole on a hot day is a wonderful treat and we enjoy being able to provide students the opportunity to have an icy pole during term 1 and term 4. The logistics of this is quite tricky at times and we are aiming to make the process easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Changes will take place from Monday 27th November in the way students are able to purchase icy poles. From Monday 27th November students will need to use a token to order an icy pole. Tokens can be ordered on QKR (This is the preferred method) or at the office. The minimum purchase is 10 tokens for $5. Tokens do not have a use-by date and can be used on any day of the week and can be carried over from one year to the next. Children will continue to write their name on a class list and present their token to their teacher. P.O. Box 176 Phone: Main Neerim Road Drouin 3818 Fax: Drouin West 3818

2 From The Principal s Office Library Books It s time to hunt for misplaced library books and return these to school. Families are asked to check very carefully at home for any books that might be hiding in sneaky places and return these to school in readiness for the annual stocktake of these precious resources. The due date for returning these resources is Friday Dec 8. Sunscreen Regular use of sunscreen has been shown to reduce the incidence of melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma, both in the short and long term. It is best to apply a generous amount of sunscreen to any exposed skin about 20 minutes before going outdoors, every 2 hours even if the stated level of protection is 4 hours. Please would parents send along with their child their own named SPF30 or higher sunscreen that If you love sharing books with your children, a visit to suits their skin. Roll on types are easy for children the public library can provide a great opportunity for to use. Please teach your child how to apply their sunscreen to the exposed areas of their skin when families to borrow books. in their school uniform. The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children found that children who are read to 6-7 times per week are This information was supplied to the school by You can visit their website more than twice as likely to record the highest reading SunSmart. test score than children read to 0-2 times per week, (sunsmart.com.au) for additional information to help and 16-18% less likely to record the lowest score. This your family learn to be aware of the importance of is a similar effect to an additional year of learning (Kalb sun protection. & van Ours, 2013). School Website Have you missed the newsletter? Do you want Twilight Working Bee School Council is organising a twilight working bee to information about the school? Please take the time get some jobs done around the school on Friday this to visit: week. We will start after school and finish with a B.B.Q. sausage and icy pole. We would appreciate any help to do a myriad of small tasks which include weeding, raking soft fall zones in the playgrounds, cleaning chairs and windows, pruning broken branches and shrubs along the car line, and clearing drains. Families are asked to bring along their own gardening tools and cleaning equipment required for these tasks. Members of our Fundraising committee will be cooking sausages on the recently purchased school B.B.Q. School Accounts As we draw towards the end of term and the end of the school year, it is vital that all school accounts and Out of Hours School Care accounts are paid. Thank you to the families who have come in to settle their accounts. Student Placements for 2018 Staff will put significant time and thought into allocating students to classes prior to our school wide transition day in the last week of school. We take into consideration friendship groups, siblings in close year levels, balance between boys and girls, social dynamics, a balance of class sizes across the school and individual learning needs of students. Teachers also consider student friendship requests. If parents/guardians have any special requests to be considered, I would encourage you to speak directly with class teachers, put your request in writing, arrange an appointment to speak with me in person or alternatively contact me by phone in the coming weeks. Requests are considered and every attempt is made to accommodate these requests. Happy Birthday!!!! Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who will celebrate their special day during the week: Monday 20th November to Sunday 26th November Christina PrepA, Zara Prep/1A and Mrs. Watson OSHC.

3 Super B Award Winners Super B award winners for week 6, term 4 PrepA P/1A Elsie Ryder 1/2A Bowen 2A Chloe 3/4A Poppy 3/4B Lexie 4/5A Lachie 5A Patrick 5/6A Shelby

4 Staff Profile Each week we will showcase a member of the Drouin West primary school staff at assembly and through the newsletter. This is in response to the parent feedback on the Kid Matter surveys that parents don t know all members of our team and they would like to! This week the staff member is Mrs. Catherine Clerks. Q. What is your role at Drouin West Primary School? A. I am the Curriculum Leader. Q. What do you do to chill out? A. I like to read books, go walking and swimming. Q. What is something not many people know about you? I won a loveliest eyes competition when I was 3 years old. Q. What is your favourite movie and why? A. Not Without My Daughter. It is a true story about a mum who finds herself in a dangerous situation and she does everything she can to save her daughter and give her a better life. That s what being a mum means to me. I will protect my kids at all costs. Q. If you were to go our for dinner, where would you like to go? A. Anywhere that I don t have to cook, my family will be with me and it will have a great view. One of my favourite places is a little fish and chip shop on a quiet beach at the northern tip of New Zealand. Tranquillity and great food with dolphins bobbing past. Our Chaplain VOLUNTEERS Last week I was privileged to host a coffee and dessert evening for a group of volunteers who have faithfully cooked up a storm over the past year, raising money to support a Chaplaincy program at a local secondary school. Last week I attended a Western Port Landcare network dinner, where I was reminded of the faithful group of volunteers who stand on their committee, supporting staff and seeking to engage local communities to be involved in sustainable agriculture and help Landcare groups in the local area protect species and plant trees. At school each week, I see parents and carers come in and hear reading, attend working bees, contact books, check hair for nits, attend excursions, raise money for the school and other organizations, make decisions on school council and support children so they can be better learners. We are so blessed to live in the area we do-with so many capable, competent and passionate people willing to serve our community, including our kids. My daughter has been blessed by her local community as she is raising funds for a project. I text my friend and said, thanks for buying bath bombs you don t really need. Her reply blew me away. She said, I consider it a good investment! I guess that s why many of us volunteer. We consider it a good investment to give back to our community. We hope in some small way we are making a positive difference in our community. I am grateful for the people who have invested in me over the years and I am thankful for the investment that people make at this school, serving to make it a great place. Thank-you!! I am sure you have heard of this story, but it s a timely reminder. The Star Fish Story 'It made a difference for that one' A man was walking along the beach and asked a young man, what he was doing. The young man paused, looked up, and replied 'Throwing starfish into the ocean.' 'I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?' asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the young man replied, 'The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die.' Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, 'But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!' At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, 'It made a difference for that one.' Adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley ( ) Thank-you for the wise investments so many make in our school community. We are truly blessed. Take care! Wendy Ronalds School Chaplain If you have any questions please contact me at the school on a Tuesday or Thursday or me on ronalds.wendy.w@edumail.vic.gov.au I do check s regularly. Acknowledgement: National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program have been funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

5 There are many jobs that need to be done around the school and we are asking families to come along on Friday 24th November from 3:30pm to lend a hand. office. If you are unable to attend at that time you are more than welcome to add your name to the job list on the whiteboard outside the school Please supply the tools needed to complete the task you are going to be doing as the school has limited tools available. Bring your gloves and protective clothing as appropriate for the job. Many hands make light work. Come along, lend a hand and enjoy some FREE BBQ sausages and an Icy Pole. The Baw Baw Combined Churches Food Relief have been very supportive of our school community over the years by supplying much appreciated meals and by having food for local families to receive. We would like to give back to this organization by running a Community Can Drive. This event is an initiative of the Drouin West Primary School Council. The Community Can Drive will run from Wednesday 22nd November to Friday 1st December. We would ask each child to bring a can along to school. You are welcome to send more than 1 can. Please make sure that all products are new, not damaged or out of their use by date if a use by date is specified on the product. A box will be placed in each class room for donations. Canned fruits eg. Peaches, Pears, Pineapple; canned vegetables eg. Peas, Corn, Tomatoes, Beetroot; Baked Beans or canned Spaghetti; Tuna or Salmon are just some suggestions. Cans will be collected daily until Friday 1st December, when at assembly they will be presented by the students to a representative of the Baw Baw Combined Churches Food Relief Centre. Thank-you for supporting those in our community who need our assistance! The Drouin West Primary School Council